To stud or not to stud?

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
I found this thread an interesting read. The guy from Sweden has some interesting comments on snow vs. ice vs. snow/ice. There are also North American comments about the Hakka 1/2/4/5 line versus the studless line.

http://bmwquebec.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=2926


Not too many fans of the studs there. I liked this comment:

"My impression of Canada during winter is that " I have never seen that much salt in my life, ever" You even have wet roads when it's -25 !! The salt in Sweden freezes at -9."

He obviously hasn't been to Western Canada! We use a small fraction of the salt the Easterners use, but even that is too much, IMO. I'd prefer the roads be salt-free.

This one made me laugh, considering the guy has probably never seen -45C in Montreal:

"Some parking garages downtown are prohibiting studs. If you enjoy getting into a fully cold car after a night of shopping/movies/restaurant/etc then studs can be an option."

A buddy of mine had underground parking at his apartment building. He bought some studded tires and continued to park underground for about a year before the building manager informed him that he can't have studs in the underground parking (he didn't know until that point, but he was always careful not to spin the tires or turn his wheels while stationary). The building had no other form of tenant parking, so they set aside a little space on the property for him to park. He loved his underground parking, but there was no way he was trading his studs for it!

I just picked up a pair of studded Goodyear Nordics for my mother's Sunfire today. I'll put them on the front tomorrow to check the balance and noise, then they'll live on the back until the other pair of BFGs wears out. She has six years and about 60k km on the set, and two are still in excellent condition. Though the studs aren't nearly as sharp as they used to be, they're all still there and they're still effective. The other pair probably only had 30% of the studs left (I pop them out when they're no longer effective) and were at 7/32.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: rpn453

Not too many fans of the studs there.


I kind of got the opposite impression - that studs are the way to go but it's a matter of not "bothering" in Canada, not that they wouldn't be beneficial. I did appreciate the Swedish guy's comments, though. Sure, if it's -20C and wet roads he's right. The problem is that 4 hours before they became wet they were polished ice until the salter guys woke up...

H5s with studs will cost me 50% more than RSis. I submitted some questions to Nokian themselves about the effectiveness of studdables without studs compared to the RSi/R series. We'll see if they answer me. H4s without studs are about 20% more than RSis

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: GMGuy
I found the BFG winter slalom to be extremely squirmy on dry roads. I did not like them at all. Just goes to proove a point somebody made earlier about different vehicles and a particular tires behavior.

I've got a set of Winter Claws (Cooper made off-brand) that are leaps and bounds ahead of the BFGs (same vehicle).


I was only referring to noise levels in that post. I have also observed that the BFGs have a squirmy feel on dry roads. The tread blocks are cut into very small pieces by all the siping. They get better in that regard as they wear, but lose winter traction in the process. It's always a compromise! I haven't had them on my car, but my dad has them on his Astro, and my mother's Sunfire and ex's MX-6 have them. I've driven the MX-6 quite a bit with them and the squirminess didn't bother me. It helps to remind me to go easy on them to preserve the tread and studs for when the roads are actually dangerous. She likes them, as she absolutely hated winter driving before that - she doesn't know how to drive a car at the limits and always drives cautiously - and now she enjoys feeling stable while others slide around on icy days. She even said she likes the ticking of the studs because she now associates it with traction.

I'd say the Weathermasters handle better and have better deep snow traction, but I don't have enough experience with them to say which is better on hard pack snow and ice. Stud condition plays a major role on ice, and mine have been sharpened by driving more than hers at this point, so mine do seem to dig into the ice a little better. Have you found the Arctic Claw to be better in all conditions? It seems BFG is discontinuing that version of the Winter Slalom, so maybe it's falling behind.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
Originally Posted By: rpn453

Not too many fans of the studs there.


I kind of got the opposite impression - that studs are the way to go but it's a matter of not "bothering" in Canada, not that they wouldn't be beneficial. I did appreciate the Swedish guy's comments, though. Sure, if it's -20C and wet roads he's right. The problem is that 4 hours before they became wet they were polished ice until the salter guys woke up...


There certainly wasn't much negativity toward studs on there, but it just seemed that nobody was actually using them. Whereas in my circle of friends, almost everyone uses them.

I should have priced out some H5s this fall, as I do consider those to be the premier winter tire, but AFAIK the only place to get Nokians here is Kal Tire, and my experience has been that phoning them is like phoning the dealership for parts. They wanted over $100 more per tire for my Michelin Pilot Sport A/S than my usual tire shop! They've always been pricey whenever I've contacted them.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: rpn453


There certainly wasn't much negativity toward studs on there, but it just seemed that nobody was actually using them. Whereas in my circle of friends, almost everyone uses them.

I should have priced out some H5s this fall, as I do consider those to be the premier winter tire, but AFAIK the only place to get Nokians here is Kal Tire, and my experience has been that phoning them is like phoning the dealership for parts. They wanted over $100 more per tire for my Michelin Pilot Sport A/S than my usual tire shop! They've always been pricey whenever I've contacted them.


According to my dealer (a one location shop where you usually end up talking to the owner, but he's big enough to have a road force balancing machine) Kaltire is the Canadian distributor for Nokian. You either buy it from them, or someone who buys it through them. Conversely, if they didn't feel like importing something (like Rs in my size

) you're out of luck.

I think you said in a prior post that you pull studs after they are ineffective. What does this do to the highway noise level of the tire? Increase, decrease or stay the same?

Clicking isn't going to bother me but delivery-truck howl drives me batty and my buddy's unstudded H2s were bad. I've been trying to gauge if studdable tires without studs are at a serious noise disadvantage or if it doesn't have much effect.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
I think you said in a prior post that you pull studs after they are ineffective. What does this do to the highway noise level of the tire? Increase, decrease or stay the same?

Clicking isn't going to bother me but delivery-truck howl drives me batty and my buddy's unstudded H2s were bad. I've been trying to gauge if studdable tires without studs are at a serious noise disadvantage or if it doesn't have much effect.


I was going to comment on the stud hole noise theory but forgot. I doubt the holes contribute to noise, but can't say with any certainty. Were the H2s noisy right from new?

I have been in a vehicle with winter tires that howled for a five hour road trip, but the studs were totally worn flat and still in the holes, and I didn't look at the tires closely to check for cupping. I also don't know how anyone can put up with it. Usually that sort of noise is the result of cupping though. I only drive the Sunfire a few times a year when I'm checking out issues/complaints or warming up the oil for an oil change, but the BFG WSs seemed to get quieter and handle better as they wore down and lost the studs. They were basically all-seasons with a few studs left by the end of last season, so they lost the stud noise and the sipe noise, and winter traction. I knew they were due for replacement when I tried to stop on a slippery road and had that no-traction feeling I hadn't experienced in many years!

I'm hoping the Nordics aren't as noisy on the Sunfire as on Jim_5's car! My neighbour/hockey teammate has them on his Civic and on his Odyssey and says they're fine there. I'll find out tomorrow.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: rpn453


I was going to comment on the stud hole noise theory but forgot. I doubt the holes contribute to noise, but can't say with any certainty. Were the H2s noisy right from new?

Yes, he got them without telling me (he had the Pirelli Snowsport 210s) and we piled in his car to head to a movie pre-K (pre-kids ) He hit the onramp and immediately I wondered what was wrong with his tires. I glanced at them and saw "Nokian" instead of "Pirelli" and proceeded to give him a hard time - not about his choice, just about buying more stuff.

Quote:

I have been in a vehicle with winter tires that howled for a five hour road trip, but the studs were totally worn flat and still in the holes, and I didn't look at the tires closely to check for cupping. I also don't know how anyone can put up with it. Usually that sort of noise is the result of cupping though.


Yes, wow-wow-wow-wow will be cupping for sure but constant whine could be cupping or design.

As I may have mentioned earlier in this thread BMWs, mostly those with sport package, tend to cause heel/toe wear which some call "cupping". The only solution seems to be choosing tires with connected tread blocks (like the OE Dunlop Sport SP2000Es) or continuous tread features (like the Toyo T1R) about an inch in from the outsides.

Obviously no snow tires are going to meet these criteria but some will wear better than others. I actually had to "educate" my tire dealer a little, he had the stance that a tire's tread pattern didn't matter at all. Certain brands do call for certain things, which is why you'll see MB's "M0" rating, and Porsche's "N0" rating. Keen eyes will see only minor differences to the regular version of the tire in question but those may be the differences which give the brand owner's a better experience through the life of the tire and allow the dealers to sell them without getting a whole lot of returns. My Dunflops happened to be the M0 version, FWIW. They have been extremely quiet and long-lasting.

 

[rpn453]

I just took the studded Goodyear Nordics out for a highway cruise after some break-in driving around town. They were quiet and they felt stable.

I'm not impressed with the studding, as some studs are much more recessed than others and they missed one hole (actually three; I inspected and caught two when I picked them up), but hopefully they'll even out after more use.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Well, about an inch of snow is possible tonight, I might be throwing the M3s on the car for a day or two just so my wife can make it through the day tomorrow.

For new snows I think I've ruled out studs, not necessarily because of the technical illegality on the roads, but more because I don't want to get hassled at parking structures and other places where the ticket agents may be specifically instructed to disallow studs. They simply may not be worth all of the potential hassles I'd receive while owning them, as great as they would be on ice.

This leaves my list: Hakka RSi (no Rs in my size were imported by the distributor) and Hakka 4 unstudded (Hakka 5s only imported fully studded by the distributor). My remaining concerns I haven't seen addressed directly in any of my research, including emailing Nokian themselves:

RSi:
- poor high speed tire structure with R rating - donuts like my Alpin Qs? This would completely negate the stability of the BMW platform. Dealer claims 99XL load rating means they're stiff, just squirmy compound.

- dry performance - cornering ("fun") and braking (safety) - tread blocks extremely soft and squishy by hand. I already notice severely compromised braking with my M3s since new.

- should I wait or try to import Rs myself to take advantage of advances in tread compounds? - the RSi is an old design compared to the Xi2, the new Conti, and others. The R seems to have stiffer side blocks for braking too.


Hakka 4:
- highway noise unknown - particularly without studs installed - I don't think I've seen anyone describe them as "quiet" but I have heard this said of the RSi

- pointless without studs? Worth extra money and potential noise when unstudded compared to studless options?

- T speed rating and other properties might make them better handlers and brakers in dry/wet although the tread depth is now 13!!!/32nds (squirm)


I still have the WRG2 in my mind if I decide to go with a "performance" snow again, but I'm fighting the urge in order to increase safety.

Has anyone used both H4 (no studs) and RSi or a similar combo (H2s and Qs) who can comment on my remaining concerns?

Lots of people poo-poo the handling, dry weather and highway speed concerns on the snows. These tires are on for just about 5 months of our year because of temperature and the mere possibility of snow or overnight icing. They aren't on only when there's snow all over the ground. As best as I can, I want to choose something with a reasonable "pleasure gap" to my summers so that I don't find myself resisting putting them on until the last possible second and wanting to get them off too early in the spring because I can't stand them any longer. I saved and bought a BMW for the capability and feel of the platform not to attempt to impress anyone with the logo. If one tire makes the car sound like an 18-wheeler and the other is quiet and grip is similar, I'll take the quiet one. Ditto for high speed stability.

Thank you for all of your input to my choice so far, I know I didn't start this thread and have done a lot of posting in it. I think some great info has come to light concerning studding.

 

[CrazyMike]

Here's my recipe, not employed by any tire manufacturer but the local tire shop and I have spent much time over the years deciphering what brand and tire does what, the ones available through the particular shops here anyway, Kal Tire and Fountain Tire.

As a standard we've found Nokian makes the best winter tires for traction, tread life, and stud life. We've tested, in light truck and passenger car applications, various Bridgestone, Uniroyal, Michelin, Nokian, Goodyear, Dunlop, Yokohama, Firestone, Cooper, cheaper economy brands like Wild Spirit, Rakkla, WestLake. Never did any Toyos, niether place sells them.

To clarify, I'm talking winter. Glare ice, black ice, glare ice with no sanding or salt and it's raining, lightly dusted roads to roads 6-10" deep, powder snow, slush. Not the in between conditions, full out ugly, where we need it the most.

Common results, skinnier makes better traction. Testing identical tires in every regard except for width of contact patch has shown better cornering, braking, acceleration, and especially in deeper snow and slush. They tend to plow less and cut through. Studs, as long as it's a pliable casing and the tread durometer rating isn't on par with a stiff rock tire, they do work better than a friction tire. That and the tires are studded properly, it's amazing how many shops will use the wrong studs, or mix them with shorter ones even though studs are color coded to help keep that from happening.

I ran Pirelli Ice & SNows on the wife's Flex, couldn't find anything else last Jan when we picked it up. Worked good, very nice in the dry, and pleasantly suprised in the ice and snow considering the harder tread compound and shorter tread depth for the H-rating. But I did the 255/50-19 Nokin Hak 5's this winter, more traction the better for my kids

Over the summer I found out the 235/55-19's that were stock were too skinny for the wheel, the left ones have curb rash so a wider tire is welcome. So far on the dry, noisy yes, no noticable effect on dry handling, wider tire has a better contact patch for the dry, and Nokian has a particular advantage over all other manufacturers, the eco-stud, and the neat way it's seaed in the tire.

They last longer, and effect dry handling less. Where standard studs begin to fail around the 3rd season, eco-studs still look new. It used to be advertised the eco stud also retracts on pavement with that cushion underneath, creating less wear on the studs, reducing road noise, improving dry handling also. Couldn't find it this time, but I do believe it, 3 years on Hak SUV's with the eco-stud on the Windstar we had previously, studs looks brand new for the 25,000km's accumulated on them. I'm also running the Hak 5's on my Supercrew in the stock sizing, no louder than my AT's, no stud noise above 60km/h I can tell, no dry handing issues up to 150km/h so far when passing on the highway.

Haven't done much comparing the last few years, pretty much settled on Nokian since they always managed to come out on top no matter what we ran. As long as proper rotation was done, the studs were respected in the dry, and optinum psi was maintained, you won't get better traction for the tread and stud life, I'm very confident on that. Pricey yes, but there isn't a better tire out there for the winter, again my opinion of coursel. So, best traction with th least dry handing efects, Nokians with eco-studs, if you don't want studs stick with an RSI or the new Nokian R, use these over a non-studded Hak 4 or 2 or SUV, those are still designed to run studs so the siping is compromised. Higher performance tires for the winter, well that's pretty much open to the newest technology and what's available to you. I ran the Pirelli's on the Flex and my Cherokee srt8 in a v-rating, they were good on the Flex but only acceptable on the srt8. I lined up a set of skinnier wheels all around so I could run 265/50-20's in the new Bridgestone DM-V1's, but probly would of done Hak 5's there too.

Light trucks, lots of fun there too, for the 3/4 ton or heavier the Hak LT's are your best bet short of custom studding some Rakklas

..... or taking some older Hak 10's, loading them up with alum-bodied studs with a longer carbide

......and siping the snot out the centers on this super skinny 10ply

Lighter trucks like my F150 Supercrew that don't need heavy ply ratings, 4 ply options are just fine.

Go Nokian, the Finnish know their tires!!

Sorry for the novel! Hope it was helpful somewhere. Game on!!

 

[CrazyMike]

Forgot to add, tire pressure, too much reduces traction. Many different variables designate optimum psi, but one constant was lower psi to a degree created better results, the casing could flex better to conform to the road, studs could penetrate better. The psi on the door is a recommendation, a fail safe to keep lawyers away from fully loaded under-inflated incidents. Tires fully inflated wear out centers in the winter, you're sliding so you don't scrub the outer tread as much during the winter, your centers wear. Reducing psi also helped keep tread wear even. This need for lower psi lessens with the bigger/wider wheels, they reduce the lowering psi effect on the casing since it is less flexibe with less sidewall and the wider wheels help keep tread wear even.

 

[CrazyMike]

Man there's some bad spelling there!! Sorry guys!!!

 

[Craig in Canada]

Thanks Crazy Mike. That was a good read.

I'm down to RSis or H4s without studs.

You say to stay away from studdables without studs, others say to always stick with the full Hakka line (ie. 10, 2, 4, 5) even if you don't run studs.

It's hard to find something conclusive. Salting often makes things worse, at least until everything is completely melted. The "putty" and "peanut butter" snow that's formed by salting is far worse for traction than some powder or packed powder. The other problem where I am is that most significant snowfall happens near freezing so then you get packing and polishing into glare ice if you "leave it alone". That's not a "win" either. In the Great Lakes area lake effect can whip up who-knows-what in a jiffy, so you don't even know what you'll find as a given day progresses. While our conditions are less severe, the road condition variance makes the choice frustrating.

 

[UG_Passat]

Originally Posted By: Craig in Canada
Thanks Crazy Mike. That was a good read.

I'm down to RSis or H4s without studs.

You say to stay away from studdables without studs, others say to always stick with the full Hakka line (ie. 10, 2, 4, 5) even if you don't run studs.

It's hard to find something conclusive. Salting often makes things worse, at least until everything is completely melted. The "putty" and "peanut butter" snow that's formed by salting is far worse for traction than some powder or packed powder. The other problem where I am is that most significant snowfall happens near freezing so then you get packing and polishing into glare ice if you "leave it alone". That's not a "win" either. In the Great Lakes area lake effect can whip up who-knows-what in a jiffy, so you don't even know what you'll find as a given day progresses. While our conditions are less severe, the road condition variance makes the choice frustrating.


The problem you have is you want everything in a snow tire for maintain the feel of the Ultimate Driving Machine.

Unfortunately, you have to make a choice: DO you prefer dry road handling or snow/ice handling?

To get the snow/ice handling the tread blocks are going to be heavily siped which leads to the tread squirm, which isn't ideal for hugging the curves.

To get the dry handling, you're going to need more stable tread blocks, so there won't nearly be enough siping & they won't be as deep.

Pretty much it's going to knock out the Nokian Hakkapeliitta lineup.

 

[CrazyMike]

This is why you don't want to run a tire designed for studs without studs, here's my 275/55-20 Hak 5

The siping is reduced around the studs for structural integrity, the same as in the Hak 4 you see here

You lose out on biting edges and flex with the solid areas meant to house studs. The friction tires use all available space to bite, as in the Hak RSI

..... siping is throughout the face completely, same with thew Hak R.

To clarify some of the recommendations on the Hak lineup, the studded tires and Q's, RSi's, R's, they are all Hak tires, the "4 seasons" tires, WR's and WRG2's, are not. Those are middle of the road for performance winter tire traction according to some European tire comparisons, still quite impressive really for an all year tire going up against dedicated winter tires in the H, V, and W speed ratings. If it's middle of the road, then it actually beat out some dedicated winters, again, impressive.

If you don't want studs, go with a Hak R, it is the replacement for the RSi, Nokian is very dedicated to constant improvement. If you can do a set of RSi's at a steal, go for it as a 2nd choice. Pretty simple once you break it down, let me know what pricing you get, I have a commercial account, might be able to sharpen a pen or two for you

Just phoned the shop to find me these, NOW!!!!

http://www.nokiantyres.com/products

Awesome, but the new tires overseas usually take 2 years to get here, argggh!!!!

 

[CrazyMike]

Mis read some info sorry Amigo, that's what I get for multi- whatever posting while catching up with paperwork. Hey you have another option, if you buy Kal Tire jump into a set of WRG2's, you have 30 days to return them at no penalty and swap into RSi's if they don't do the job....

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: UG_Passat

The problem you have is you want everything in a snow tire for maintain the feel of the Ultimate Driving Machine.

Unfortunately, you have to make a choice: DO you prefer dry road handling or snow/ice handling?

To get the snow/ice handling the tread blocks are going to be heavily siped which leads to the tread squirm, which isn't ideal for hugging the curves.

To get the dry handling, you're going to need more stable tread blocks, so there won't nearly be enough siping & they won't be as deep.

Pretty much it's going to knock out the Nokian Hakkapeliitta lineup.


To me squirm is not the same thing as being floaty on the highway. I was perfectly happy with the cornering, dry, wet performance of the Alpin, considering it was a snow tire, until you exceeded 100kph.

I contend that it is NOT the squirm factor which contributed to the high speed problem. My Dunlop M3s are not great at cornering, braking, accelerating, ice, snow, dry or wet. But they're quiet while they suck and they don't go floaty at speed.

I understand perfectly well that a snow tire can't do everything if you want it to do any one of those things exceptionally. You commented that a particular tire was great up to the 150kph you tried - great! That's exactly the endorsement I'm looking for from someone, anyone, who pays attention to vehicle dynamics while driving. Your comments weren't for the RSi, though.

I see you've followed up to my 60-80mph inquiry on the RSis - thank you!

People who live in harsher climates don't seem to understand that the more I think about it this might be the worst climate in which to try to choose a perfect snow tire. So much snow, polished ice at intersections, brine wet roads, snow storms are all heavy and wet, but many dry, open days...

If it was COLDER, it would be less of a problem. Any rare time it's ever been snowing significantly while cold (ie. below -10C) the M3s do fine but totally lose it in typical warmer snow conditions. Usually I'd be stuck and barely able to move in some snow but in 9" of snow at -13C I was able to leisurely idle around (as opposed to chanting "gotta keep it moving...gotta keep it moving...") and park in a lot without even being able to tell there was snow there. I was shocked... If I were in Saskatoon my M3s would be great, apparently! As soon as they started throwing the salt on the road, things got worse, traction-wise. It clogs up the tires no matter what kind of siping you have and you ride on top of it no matter how skinny your tires.

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: CrazyMike
This is why you don't want to run a tire designed for studs without studs, here's my 275/55-20 Hak 5

The siping is reduced around the studs for structural integrity, the same as in the Hak 4 you see here

You lose out on biting edges and flex with the solid areas meant to house studs. The friction tires use all available space to bite, as in the Hak RSI
..... siping is throughout the face completely, same with thew Hak R.


Yes, that stands to reason, although may those solid stud areas also contribute to dry/wet traction and handling not totally sucking too? I know it's not the same as solid edge blocks but maybe it plays a factor? There are some people out there who insist that the H4 is better than the studless line even without studs. There are Swedish folks who say that the H4 will do better in snow than the RSi whether it is studded or not, but will do more poorly on ice unless studded. That agrees with what you're saying. I'm not sure that I see anything in the RSi/R which would make it LESS favourable in snow, though.

Quote:

To clarify some of the recommendations on the Hak lineup, the studded tires and Q's, RSi's, R's, they are all Hak tires, the "4 seasons" tires, WR's and WRG2's, are not. Those are middle of the road for performance winter tire traction according to some European tire comparisons, still quite impressive really for an all year tire going up against dedicated winter tires in the H, V, and W speed ratings. If it's middle of the road, then it actually beat out some dedicated winters, again, impressive.

If you don't want studs, go with a Hak R, it is the replacement for the RSi, Nokian is very dedicated to constant improvement. If you can do a set of RSi's at a steal, go for it as a 2nd choice. Pretty simple once you break it down, let me know what pricing you get, I have a commercial account, might be able to sharpen a pen or two for you


The distributor (Kal Tire) apparently imported 0 Rs in my size (225/55/16) for this year. If that's true, then no dealer in Canada can get me any and calling around is pointless. I can get RSis for C$189+tax installed and balanced from my preferred tire dealer with a Hunter GSP9700 road force balancing machine (important for BMWs and other cars with full aluminum suspension).

I handled an R and RSi in the showroom and I would much prefer to have the R. Partially to take advantage of any tread compound developments - the RSi is an older design and Michelin, Conti and others have made advances. Partially because the side block siping seems more rigid and able to "lock" together fore/aft. I think this would increase braking performance.

If I were still in the market for a performance snow, I would be looking at the WRG2.

Thanks for taking the time to discuss and incorporate images!

 

[CrazyMike]

Gotchya, thanks for the clarification on the h4's, it is possible it will run better on dry with less siping, as it is possible to be better in snow, the studs make most of the ice traction while the tread can focus more on snow bite/deflection, bite.

How wide are your wheels, you have a few other size options if it's a 7-7.5" width, hey I'd be tempted to try a 225/60-16 just to see if there's clearance under the fenderwells, an extra 7/16" ground clearance won't hurt, and since the tires are the same size all around the only issue with calibration/function would be the speedometer......

 

[Craig in Canada]

Originally Posted By: CrazyMike
Gotchya, thanks for the clarification on the h4's, it is possible it will run better on dry with less siping, as it is possible to be better in snow, the studs make most of the ice traction while the tread can focus more on snow bite/deflection, bite.

How wide are your wheels, you have a few other size options if it's a 7-7.5" width, hey I'd be tempted to try a 225/60-16 just to see if there's clearance under the fenderwells, an extra 7/16" ground clearance won't hurt, and since the tires are the same size all around the only issue with calibration/function would be the speedometer......


They are 7". I think the 215/60 are a better match...

http://www.michelinman.ca/specs/x-ice-xi2/4158.html

The RPM@45mph of 225/55/16 is 808, the Xi2 in 215/60 are 797 while the 225/60 is 782. Something to think about I guess...

Ooooh, Hakka 7s!